I do not blame you for being enticed by sleek advertising and celebrity endorsement for I have 100% been there, but I have found my way back from that dark, misleading place. The amount of time you waste on these fruitless endeavours is time that you will never get back. The feelings of guilt and self-loathing when you cannot stick to an unrealistic fad diet or the disappointment when the scales don’t budge are so damaging to your self-esteem. What we really need to do is love ourselves the way we are now, in this moment, and be proud of our bodies regardless of shape or size.  After all we are capable of growing tiny humans and raising them – could we be any more amazing?!

I know that I only really found health and happiness when I stopped dieting and I began to love myself, regardless of whether I could fit into my ideal size of clothes or a tiny bikini, and with that love I gained enough respect to start treating my body as it deserves to be treated; with healthy nourishing foods, rest and exercise.

In my before and after picture you can clearly see that I have lost weight but what you can’t see is that I have also lost painful inflammation, anger, lethargy, feelings of isolation and depression. Yes, I may have lost a few numbers on the scale but I have gained so much more.

So here is an idea to help contribute to a healthier, happier you: every morning stand in front of a mirror and say ” I love myself exactly as I am right now”.

Yes, you may feel like a bit of a knob at first but keep going until you really believe every word you say.

Then go and discover what nourishing food really looks and tastes like, gather together any diet pills, shakes and diet foods you have and put them in the bin. And stop eating processed junk masquerading as food because you deserve so much better than that. You are amazing after all!